Cheesy Garlic Rolls and BMT Salad~ Friday Night Dinner

Friday night, there's one every week.  In our house, we like to take it easy but also have some fun.  Most often we watch a movie and eat dinner while we watch.  Dinner is often something that isn't difficult to make or is made ahead of time.  One more thing, dinner has to be yummy.

I know many families opt for pizza on Friday nights.  Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.  Pizza happens to be one of our favorite Friday night dinners, but something different can be good and just as delicious.  Cheesy garlic rolls are similar to pizza~ based on pizza or bread stick dough and loaded with cheese, my children L~O~V~E these.  They don't miss the tomato sauce.  In fact, these have their favorite parts of pizza, lots of gooey cheese with a buttery crust.

But we can't have just cheesy garlic rolls for dinner, now can we?  Well, my kids think they can.  Here's a salad that is so flavorful and a nice twist~ BMT Salad.  I had this at a covered dish once, got the recipe, and now make it a few times a year ever since.  The salad makes enough for quite a large group so you may want to half it.  It is a hearty salad with bread and fresh mozzarella and bacon.  The balsamic vinegar and the basil add a distinctly sweet flavor to the whole salad.

Basil Mozzarella and Tomato Salad
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella, cubed
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1 small baguette, cubed
4 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
4-6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 lb bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl; cover and let marinate in refrigerator at least an hour.  Place bread cubes on cookie sheet; toast in preheated oven for about 5-8 minutes, tossing once or twice.

Place toasted bread in large bowl; add tomatoes, basil and marinated mozzarella.  Toss and let sit at least 15 minutes. Place lettuce in serving bowl.  Top with bread mixture, green onions and crumbled bacon.  Toss lightly. Serves 10~12.

Cheesy Garlic Rolls
1 1/2 c warm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp
4-5 c flour
drizzle of olive oil
1/3 c butter, very soft
6 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
3 c shredded mozzarella

Mix sugar with the warm water; add yeast and stir.  Let sit in warm spot for 5 minutes until foamy.  Stir in salt.  Add 2 cups of flour and stir to combine.  Using dough hook {or hands}, add 1 cup flour at a time and stir/knead dough until it is not too sticky and forms a ball.  Flour your work surface and knead dough on surface for a couple of minutes, until smooth.  Place dough in a large glass or porceline bowl; drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toss to coat.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm spot for 1 hour to rise, about doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a 9"x13" pan.
Punch risen dough down.  On floured surface, roll dough out to a bit larger than 9"x13".  Spread soft butter over entire surface of dough.  Combine Parmesan, garlic and basil.  Sprinkle over buttered dough.  Top with mozzarella.  Roll dough, like for cinnamon rolls, from the long side to the long side.  Cut into 12 equal pieces.  Place in greased 9"x13" pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 20~25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Serve warm.

Tips and Tricks~
*You can make these ahead of time, up to the point of baking.  Just keep covered and refrigerated, even overnight.  Let them stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking and you'll be good to go.
*The salad is easy to make ahead as long as you don't combine all the ingredients.  Keep the ingredients in separate baggies in one container to throw together just before serving.  That also means you don't want to have leftovers of this salad; it doesn't keep after combing everything.  Though, you probably won't have any leftovers.
*When chopping the fresh basil, layer the leaves and roll.  Then slice thinly, and chop the thin slices.

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